Language
Country/Area
No result found
How to Become a Memory Champion: What are the practices and strategies behind top players?
Memory champion, or memory, is an individual who can remember and recall an unusually long list of data, such as unfamiliar names, lists of numbers and texts.This term stems from the concept of "mnemonic", which refers to strategies that aid memory, such as location method or major systems, but not all memory users use mnemonic technology.The inner memory and memory ability is also a widely discussed topic in memory champions.
The structure of memory skills and the source of memory ability still attract research from many psychologists.
Structure of memory skills
The memory methods used by memory users have been widely recorded.Many memory users have been paid attention to in psychological research over the past century.Most of them use mnemonic devices, and currently, all memory champions at the World Memory Championships say they use mnemonic strategies such as location method to carry out memory challenges.Theories about the internal operation of skills were proposed by K. Anders Ericsson and Bill Chase to explain the effectiveness of mnemonic devices in memory expertise.
Encoding
Encoding is to make meaningful correlations of information based on knowledge structure.This is where the long list is usually decomposed into smaller manageable parts to accommodate the capacity of short-term memory.The oral report of memory experts shows that these groups are generally three to four items.For example, remember the number sequence 1-9-4-5 as "year of the end of World War II."
Through past knowledge, the memory can more effectively encode new information.
Search
Creating a search structure is the next step, which can help recall associations.Its function is to save search prompts without having to use short-term memory to remember the order of items.Experienced memory users usually use the hierarchical node and location method as a method of recalling information.
Location method
The location method is the process of "using ordered positions to place objects or people in their respective images".This process is divided into three steps: first, remember a building area; then, associate each item to remember with a separate image; and finally, distribute these images within the area in a predetermined order.
When you need to recall information, the memory user only needs to "stroll" along this road and see each symbol to recall relevant information.
For example, memory Solomon Shereshevsky uses his familiar streets to train memory.It is this highly visual way of association that allows him to recall information.Neuroimaging studies show that memory experts use the location method, areas of brain activity are related to spatial memory and navigation.
Accelerate
The final step in proficient memory theory is acceleration.As exercises increase, the time required for encoding and retrieval can be significantly shortened, and the storage of information can be completed in seconds.Therefore, when studying memory, subjects tend to continuously improve with multiple tests.
Skills or natural abilities learned?
The natural problems of memory experts' performance have not yet been concluded.There is much evidence that the ability of memory experts can be obtained through flexible learning and extensive practice.For example, among the players participating in the World Memory Championship, almost all players denied the ability to remember photos, but instead had to master the coding strategy after an average of ten years of practice.
Professional memory players are better than ordinary people, mainly reflected in their memory of specific information types, but not necessarily superior to other types of memory.
For example, even if memory experts can remember a large number of digits, they may not be able to perform beyond ordinary people when remembering irrelevant symbols or snowflakes.In addition, past research has also pointed out that the results of neuroimaging indicate that experts are not significantly different in structure from ordinary people, which shows that the abilities of memory experts are mostly acquired.
However, the debate on whether the ability to remember is innate or acquired learning outcomes continues.Is this a gift of talent, or a skill that can be created through hard work and resilience?
